Behind the Iron Curtain: Intimate Views of Life in Communist Hungary

Must See: Videos Worth Watching

By Erik OlsenJun. 12, 2009Jun. 12, 2009

“2,200 Degrees Fahrenheit” (03:18)
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after U.S. Steel. Forged in the company’s fiery cauldrons were the towering beams of the Golden Gate Bridge and steel for skylines and tunnels, as well as for thousands of World War II warships, airplanes and artillery.

The decline and demise of Bethlehem Steel (the company ceased to exist in 2004) is yet another example of the breathtaking changes that have swept through America’s industrial landscape over the last several decades, changes that we also called attention to in “The Decline of G.M.” to in last week’s video selections. This short, absorbing video by filmmaker Jesse Erica Epstein takes us through the rusted remains of the Bethlehem factory in Bethlehem, Pa. The video’s title comes from the melting point of steel. Guided by the voice of Ritchie Check, 92, a former steel worker, we experience the dead factory’s crumbling concrete towers, ghostly rail tracks and the cavernous, gutted interiors through which once flowed the lifeblood of American industrial might.

“A Soldier’s Dilemma in Afghanistan” (06:34)
C.J. Chivers, a New York Times correspondent, turns out some of the most adrenaline-inflected prose in our newspaper. His recent reporting from battle zones in Afghanistan is guaranteed make your heart beat faster. He also happens to carry a video-capable still camera with him, and often provides us with raw and intense footage that can be weaved into revealing narratives that speak to the challenges faced by American soldiers on the ground.

In this recent video, edited by my colleague Rob Harris, Mr. Chivers, a former Marine, is embedded with the Second Platoon, Bravo Company in Afghanistan’s Korangal Valley. The platoon is fighting the Taliban in the region, and desperately needs the help of local elders in order to locate and battle insurgents. Through a rain-fogged lens, Mr. Chivers captures the grittiness of the soldiers’ difficult task as they try to win hearts and minds in a complex, frustrating place.

“Grafica Fidalga” (04:10)
I’ve long been a fan of Cool Hunting’s colorful, quirky video profiles of artists and other creative types, which I subscribe to on iTunes and often watch on my iPhone. In this piece, the group’s Gregory Mitnick travels to São Paulo, Brazil and introduces us to Maurizio, Carlao and Carlinhos, the Pep Boys of printing, who craft simple, but beautiful posters called “lambe lambe.” The men use huge hand-sawed letters made of pressed wood and a 1929 German press that whirs and clanks like a machine out of a Coen brothers film.

“Stand By Me” (05:07)
In March 2005 Mark Johnson recorded a street musician named Roger Ridley playing the 1960s classic “Stand By Me” on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif. Four years and many thousands of miles of globe-trotting (and recording) later, Mr. Johnson produced this soulful, spirit-lifting music video featuring over 15 musicians playing the song around the world. Mr. Johnson traveled with a home-built mobile recording studio and he and his crew shot much of the piece in high def. The quality is superb, and the video is, in a way, as much a documentary as a music video. The video has been very popular on Vimeo and YouTube, but even if you have seen it before, it makes for a solid, smile-inducing Friday afternoon viewing experience.

A video explanation of how the Playing for Change project started and how this and other videos were produced can be seen here.